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UPS Workers Authorize Strike;
Employee Walkout Is Unlikely

By

Rick BrooksStaff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated May 21, 2002 2:03 a.m. ET

ATLANTA -- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, seeking more leverage in contract talks with United Parcel Service Inc., said 93% of voting union members at the delivery giant authorized the union to call a strike if an acceptable contract isn't negotiated.

The procedural vote to authorize a strike by 210,000 of the 371,000 employees at UPS doesn't necessarily signal an ominous turn in the year's biggest labor showdown. Analysts said a walkout after the contract expires July 31 remains unlikely, partly because UPS could...